Riverwalk: 
One of the most anticipated luxury high-rise apartment towers that's been in the works in downtown Tampa for six years is moving closer to beginning construction. City to spend $1M on Riverwalk improvements as 33-story AER tower in downtown Tampa moves toward groundbreaking.  

Water Street:
EDITION Tampa, the boutique hotel topped with luxury condos in Water Street Tampa, has officially broken ground. The 27-story EDITION — which includes 172 guest rooms and 37 condos — is under construction across the street from Amalie Arena, at the northwest corner of Channelside Drive and Water Street. It is slated to open in spring 2021. 

The condos — the first hotel-branded condos in Tampa and the third EDITION branded condos in the U.S. — will be on floors 10 through 27.  The Residences at The Tampa EDITION will be world-class listings that set a new standard for luxury throughout the region with spectacular views, gracious layouts including extensive private balconies that extend every unit to the view, and a full suite of amenities and services available on site.

Beyond guest rooms and condos, the hotel will also include restaurant and entertainment spaces, including a lobby bar, lounge, market and entertainment venue.
 

Craig’s Take:
There are several reasons this project is significant. The first is that it is going to be Tampa’s first 5-star hotel. If you are like me, that is a surprising fact. Secondly, it is going to be the first hotel in the downtown area that offers condo-residences in a hotel where residents can enjoy all the amenities that hotel guests enjoy. Until now, the only hotels that offered such have been located out on the beaches, like the Sand Pearl and others. The Tampa project will be the third similar Edition-branded residences in the United States. The other two being in Miami Beach and West Hollywood in Los Angeles. Presales are slated to begin early next year, and pricing has yet to be released. We do know from sales of other Edition-branded residences they garner premium pricing. The Miami Beach Edition condos began pre-sales a year ago and their pricing ranged from $1.65 million and went up to $8.9 million for 5,200 square-foot-unit. This project is one of many Water Street projects that is firmly solidifying downtown Tampa as one of the premier downtowns along the east coast of our country. It is disappointing that the hotel is not slated to be open in time for the super bowl coming up on February 7, 2021. It will be here soon enough and it is something for us all to be excited about.

Westshore District: 
Cru Cellars will bring its wine selection and cheese and charcuterie boards to the Westshore Marina District. The South Tampa wine shop and restaurant has signed a lease for 2,400 square feet in the 52-acre mixed-use district at Westshore and Gandy boulevards

Cru, which has locations in South Tampa and Heights Public Market within Armature Works, will serve wine by the glass, cocktails, from-scratch dishes and cheese and charcuterie boards. It will also sell bottles of small production wines from around the globe and offer a lunch menu. Grab-and-go pastries and a coffee menu are also planned.

"Every neighborhood deserves a local respite where locals can escape and center themselves over good company, great atmosphere and serious food and wine,” Jennifer Bingham, who owns Cru with her husband, Torrey, said in a statement. “I’m excited to bring a neighborhood spot to the Westshore area.”

Cru joins other restaurants and retailers that have recently committed to the Westshore Marina District: Duckweed Urban Grocer will have a presence there, as will Crave Spa, Salon Color Bar, DRNK coffee + tea and QWENCH juice bar.
 

Craig’s Take:
Jennifer and Torey are past clients who have a passion for wine and food. Their knowledge on wine is incredible and they love sharing it with others. They offer classes where you can learn about all types of wine. Several years ago, I took their introductory course and learned a lot while having a good time. I highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in learning more about wine. The Westshore Marina district lacks local restaurants like Cru Cellars and the residence there are in for a treat. If you aren’t familiar with the development going on in that area and have questions, please reach out. It is one of the most active areas in Tampa for new development and is going to be one of the more desirable areas in Tampa to live if you want to be by the water. Stay tuned for future development updates for this part of Tampa.  

St. Pete Pier:
The 26-acre St. Pete Pier District is nearing completion with major hurdles conquered, but there is still much to do before the 2020 opening.
The pier head building will house a bait shop, restaurants and a fishing dock. Onshore, the Doc Ford's Rum Bar & Grille is nearly complete. Adjacent is the parking lot where solar panels will be installed on canopies; they will be connected to Duke Energy's grid. Solar panels are also being installed at the marketplace that will act as shade for the vendors. The city is expected to have all of its initial vendors selected for the marketplace by October. Playground equipment has arrived. St. Pete Mayor Rick Kriseman tweeted a photo of the first delivery of play equipment as he toured the Pier site.

Midtown:
The master developer of Midtown Tampa has hired two real estate firms that specialize in experiential and lifestyle-driven properties to spearhead the district's retail portion. New York-based Bromley Cos. said Wednesday it has partnered with Jeffrey R. Anderson Real Estate Inc. and CASTO Southeast Realty Services to develop Midtown's 220,000 square feet of retail space.
Storefronts are a key component of Midtown Tampa, which has already signed a deal with Whole Foods Market Inc. to relocate its store from the nearby Walter's Crossing shopping center to Midtown. Retail space is what will shape the pedestrian experience within the district.
In addition to Whole Foods, Bromley is also bringing Tampa's first True Food Kitchen to Midtown as well as a new restaurant from chef Chris Ponte.

A national retailer specializing in outdoor apparel and equipment plans to open a 22,500-square-foot store in Tampa in spring 2021. The REI Co-op will be located at 1101 N. Dale Mabry Highway in the $550 million Midtown Tampa, the new district under construction in the Westshore area. REI will open its store on the spot that once housed Men's Wearhouse. The location is at the base of the seven-story, $72 milllion Midtown One office building and next to where Whole Foods Market will be constructed.
 

Craig’s Take:
In today’s new world of retail development concepts are changing in order to be able to compete with online shopping. The new concepts are being designed with service-oriented businesses like restaurants, fitness studios and beyond to create the customer coming back to enjoy experiences not available online. The significance of Mid-Town is three-fold. The first it is completely transforming a previously underutilized and underdeveloped area of Tampa. Second, it is going to tie together several different parts of Tampa. It will tie the International Mall Area, Westshore Business District, South Tampa, and West Tampa areas all together. This location is incredibly central to all of Tampa and being right off I-275 will be easy to access for all of Tampa. I expect this area to see a huge traffic of people coming from all areas of Tampa. The third reason, it that it will create another urban walkable area for all the surrounding residences. I do expect this development to have a positive impact on the surrounding real estate values, especially parts of West Tampa, North of Kennedy, Westshore Business District and Carver City. It will also impact rent rates for the many luxury apartments in the area.

More updates to come in future newsletters and on our Facebook page. Click below to follow us.

Loosen those belts, Tampa, things are going to get seriously sweet next year. Dessert Wars, billed as America’s largest dessert festival, will take place at Armature Works on February 9. Tons of vendors will be baking fluffy and flaky, sweet and dense, sugary and savory treats, all in the name of being crowned Dessert Champion.

Be warned, this event sells out every year. You’ll want to get your tickets a bit in advance. Don’t worry, you don’t have to pay for each and every dessert. Your ticket comes with sample tickets you can use at participating vendors.

Sprinkle on top tickets include 50 sample tickets, a “go-box” and an exclusive Dessert Wars T-shirt with entry beginning at 3 p.m. the day of Dessert Wars. General admission tickets include 30 sample tickets, a “go-box” and entry beginning at 4 p.m. the day of the event.

Tickets range from $35-$75 and can be purchased on the Dessert Wars’ event page. The dessert throw down will be held at Armature Works in Tampa Heights, which is located at 1901 North Ola Avenue.

What’s a more charming way to enter a home than to pass a koi pond on the way? This home at 144 Willadel Dr., in Belleair has that and lots of other amenities to spare. From a tennis court to a backyard pool with a waterfall, it sits on two acres of waterfront property.

On one of the most desirable streets in Florida. This home sold for $7.9 million, the six-bedroom, six-bathroom home sits on almost two acres of waterfront property overlooking the Intracoastal Waterway.

European elegance and extraordinary construction make this one of the most amazing waterfront estates period. No-expense-spared concrete construction with Italian finishes are both beautiful and built to withstand the elements. Enter via serene Koi pond area. Enjoy panoramic water views from this almost 2-acre waterfront setting where the main home sits uniquely on a bluff and slopes to a waterfront lawn. 

The kitchen features Viking appliances, Tuscan tiles, custom cabinetry, and a catering/butler's pantry. There is a large walk-in wine cellar and grand hall, perfect to show off art collection, etc. The first-floor master has a sauna, walk-in closets, and a safe room. The second floor (accessible by stairs or elevator) has 3 bedrooms/3 baths and a fully outfitted theater. A resort size/style pool has a waterfall and an underground water slide. The pool house (with a kitchen), adjacent to the pool is a tennis court (shared with neighbor). There is a large one-bedroom guest house and a deeded boat slip.

Craig’s Take:
Prior to the most recent sale the estate was last listed on 6/1/2007 and last sold on 5/23/2008 for $10.25 million. From the 80’s to 2008 the home was owned by Larry Dimmitt Jr., owner of the Dimmitt Family of luxury car dealerships throughout Pinellas County. Part of the reason it sold for more money in 2008 than it did in the most recent sale was because Mr. Dimmitt agreed to seller finance a large portion of the sale. Many times, when a seller agrees to such terms it makes it easier for the buyer to purchase and as a result the seller is able to get a higher price for the property. Obviously, the downside is the seller doesn’t get all of their cash until the amount the seller financed is paid off or refinanced. The most recent sale was an all cash sale and didn’t involve any type of seller financing. The seller of the property was Dr. James St. Louis founder of the Laser Spine Institute. If you aren’t familiar the Laser Spine Institute was abruptly closed back in March of this year due to financial difficulties. Given the circumstances surrounding the seller Dr. James St. Louis it would be reasonable to assume the seller was motivated to sell. This is another reason the estate sold for a lower price than in the past. The new owner of this magnificent estate is Stu and Rebecca Sjouwerman. Mr. Sjouwerman is the founder and owner of KnowBe4. KnowBe4 hosts the world’s most popular integrated Security Awareness Training and Simulated Phishing platform. For those non-tech people, the above simply means they are a cyber-tech company. A large part of Mr. Sjouwerman’s money was made when he sold his past venture of 16 years Sunbelt Software back in 2010 to GFI Software. The amount of the sale is unknown. Mr. Sjouwerman can enjoy one of the finest estates on the Florida’s west coast knowing he purchased it at great value.